Children?

by laurachristine

When I first decided to write a blog, I thought two things which I no longer think. First: That I would have time and energy to update this often (I am hoping someday that will be true). Second: That I would be teaching children – I’ll explain this last one further…

“All Children Grow Up” – I titled my blog after a line from one of my favorite books, Peter Pan, because I wanted to remember that part of my role as a teacher is how to grow to be successful adults. After almost a month at my school, my title now has a totally new meaning to me. All children grow up, and my students have been forced to grow up faster than most people their age. They have dealt with harsher realities than I ever hope too.

The other day, my fellow teachers and I noticed very suddenly how well two of our students got along. We were surprised by the change in attitude we noticed in the boy when he hung out with this girl. Then one of my coworkers said, “She brings out the child in him” and I suddenly realized, I rarely saw this boy act like someone his own age. He always acted tougher, harder, and more serious than typical 15 year olds. Seeing him act like someone his age was surprising, and I realized, this boy grew up way before his time, and yet he is still trying to get through middle school. That has to be difficult.

2 Responses

candidelabelle

True indeed!! Watching the interactions between students, I have come to understand that they all still want to be children. That’s why they do have the insane things we see them do. A conflict between the child inside and the adult they are forced to be. Thanks for sharing and enlightening me!!